Did you miss me?
by Ayooheather
Summary: He needed her like the air he breathed... he just needed her to know that. 3x22 one shot. BRUCAS


There was something about weddings that just gave him a sense of pure happiness and hope. The idea of two people making the choice to commit to a lifetime of loving one another… no matter what the future holds - a promise to love someone unconditionally even on the days that they may not like each other. He wanted that and it wasn't until recently that he started to think about what the future may hold for him and Brooke. It wasn't exactly a conversation they have had yet but he didn't need words to know deep down that he couldn't imagine a future without her - and he was almost certain she felt the same.

The actual wedding wasn't supposed to start for another few hours but he had promised his girlfriend that he would come early to help her with any last minute decorations. He was amazed how Brooke Davis could set all this up practically all by herself. The place looked absolutely stunning. The decorations were so elegant and simple which he knew Haley was going to appreciate. He watched her for a little from the door, watching as she arranged some plates and he couldn't help but smile. She was absolutely stunning even if she was only in a red tank top and black sweatpants. Brooke Davis was in her element and he swore there was nothing sexier. He knew how much she loved weddings and the fact that she actually was allowed to plan one was probably a dream come true for her. He took a few more seconds to appreciate her beauty before walking toward her.

"Hey Pretty girl"

She glanced quickly at him and continued with the task at hand and gave him a short "Hey"

He furrowed his eyebrows - studying her tense body language. Normally he would be greeted with a hug and a kiss but she barely even looked at him.

"What's wrong" he asked confused.

"Nothing"

"Come on. Nobody loves a wedding more than Brooke Davis. What's up?"

"I'd just appreciate it if you didn't talk to Peyton today" she responde as if it wasn't a big deal.

"You're kidding right?" He couldn't help but chuckle but that stopped when she turned to look at him with one of her _looks_ \- a look he knew would get him in trouble if he didn't tread lightly. "This is a wedding. We're all in the same wedding party. We're all friends here Brooke" he tried to reason with her. He couldn't understand why she was acting this way. He swore he saw the two girls perfectly fine yesterday at the rehearsal dinner.

"You know… can you do me a favor, just once and put me above _your_ precious Peyton and do something that _I_ ask you to do? Thanks." she barked irritatedly.

"Woah. What happened?" her sudden outburst was confusing him even more. He tried to rack his brain on what he could have possibly done to have her so upset at him.

She collected her thoughts briefly before turning to him. "We had a fight… and I'm stressed out about my speech and Haley's dress and I'm late." she fumbled with her words a bit before continuing. "I-I'm late to get ready and I'm sorry" she put her hand to her forehead and sighed at the end.

"You're late" he said after a few seconds of silence. Out of everything she said, the only thing that really mattered was that one line - the line she tried to cover up with a tiny white lie but he knew her better than anyone and knew she was trying to backtrack her statement. "You're late…" he said once again before a small smile formed on his face.

Brooke mentally kicked herself for letting that slip. She wasn't going to tell him anything until she was sure. God, she didn't even take a test yet. She saw the small smile creep on his face and instantly became confused. What the heck was he smiling about? Did he misunderstand her? Maybe he doesn't know what she meant and if he didn't, the man upstairs was definitely buying her time right now.

"I should go get ready… you look nice" she said before turning to leave.

However Lucas grabbed her arm before she got away. "Brooke… you said you're late. Does that mean… I mean I don't want to jump to conclusions but…. I -" he started to ramble. His thoughts were all over the place. He knew there was a chance that this could happen. They stopped using condoms a long time ago. He knew it was stupid but she was on the pill and they loved each other.

He watched her nod slowly - giving up the charade.

"I'm a few days late Luke…"

"Did you take a test yet?" He asked pulling her in closer to him and wrapped his arms around her. He felt her shake her head and his heart began to race. Mixed feelings washed over him. Part of him was scared shitless, they were entirely too young to be parents but the other part of him felt happy. Maybe this was the way things were supposed to happen.

"Baby…" he said softly. "I love you and we're going to do this together. Okay?" He felt her nod her head against his chest as the tears started to seep in his shirt. "Hey pretty girl…" he lifted her chin so she could look at him. "I'm here for you. You know that right?"

"I know Broody"

He smiled when she called him that. It meant he was officially in the safe zone again.

"Please come home with me tonight…" he begged. "We can take the test together and talk, whatever you want."

"What about your mom?" She asked confused. She knew that she had a great relationship with his mother but she was sure Karen was definitely not on board with a sleepover.

"She's not going to be home this weekend" he reassured her.

"Okay…" she agreed. "It's getting late. I need to get ready or else Haley is going to have an ugly bridesmaid" she laughed - wiping away her tears. She gave him a quick peck and turned to leave.

"Brooke" he said before she walked out the door. "I'm not going to talk to Peyton today. If that's what you need for us to be good… then I won't talk to her" he said seriously.

"Thanks Luke" she said giving him an appreciative smile before leaving the room.

* * *

Lucas underestimated how hard it was avoiding Peyton. The venue was big but it wasn't _that_ big. Whenever he saw her coming toward him, he would walk the opposite direction and find another group of people to talk to. It would have been so much easier if Brooke wasn't so busy hosting or else he would just stay by her side the whole time.

Things were complicated to say the least. He truly thought that the history between the three of them was in the past but it wasn't - and it made him question if him and Brooke were ever going to get passed it. He wasn't going to give up on proving to her he's the one for her but it was difficult to stay optimistic when she periodically reverts back to not trusting him even though he has proven that he wasn't going anywhere. In a perfect world, the three of them could all be friends but this wasn't a perfect world and he knew that ultimately came down to him making a choice. Even though, he didn't want to…

He saw Brooke walk toward him with a shy smile on her face.

"I didn't get to tell you but you look gorgeous" he said honestly. She was absolutely breathtaking in the red dress. He pulled her close and whispered "You know what the color red on you does to me"

"You don't look too bad yourself" she kinked her eyebrow and gave him her infamous smirk. "Dance with me"

She grabbed his hand and lead him to the middle of the dance floor and he wrapped his arms around her and swayed slowly to the music.

"Did you miss me while you were away?" She asked looking up into his eyes - searching for the truth.

"Everyday. I was just angry and upset about Keith and I just needed to be alone but that doesn't mean that I didn't miss you Brooke… because I did"

Her question made him feel a physical ache in his heart. His love was something she shouldn't have been doubting but here she was, questioning if he even missed her while he was away. It truly killed him to know that the one person he cared about the most wasn't even aware of how important she was to him.

"I needed to hear your voice" she admitted quietly.

"I'm sorry Brooke." He sighed - disappointed in himself. He leaned down and gave her a gentle kiss and held her close. "Let's get go home baby"

"But what about the party?"

"I just want to be alone with you."

She nodded her head and held his hand as they made their rounds saying goodbye to everyone.

* * *

Lucas changed out of his wedding attire and grabbed a tshirt for Brooke to change into when she was done taking the test. He sat nervously, playing with the loose thread on his blanket. She's only been in the bathroom for maybe 15 minutes but it felt like forever. He wasn't even sure where her head was at right now. There was so much to talk about - so much he had to make clear to her to eliminate any doubt to save this relationship.

 _If I ever got a second chance, I'd never let you go again._

The words from that day replayed in his mind. He had meant it when he told her that and now it was time for him to keep his word.

She walked back into the room, closed the door, and sat next to him with the test in her hand. He could tell she's been crying.

"Hey baby" he said slowly, putting an arm around her.

"Hey" she said back. "I think it's ready but I haven't been able to actually look at it yet"

"It's okay." He nodded his head understandingly. "Whatever happens. We'll figure it out _together._ Okay?" He held out his pinky to solidify the promise - something he picked up from her.

She intertwined her pinky with his and gave out a small laugh. "Well, here goes nothing" she turned the test around and let out a sigh of relief. "It's negative"

Lucas gave her a small smile and took the test from her to throw it away. He handed her the shirt before laying down on the bed. "Come here and lay with me"

They laid down next to each other without saying much. Both of them consumed with their own thoughts.

"Can I tell you something?" He finally said.

"Of course"

"I think about what it would have been like if we have gotten pregnant the first time around." He admitted to her for the first time. "I know we were just kids then but I always wondered what our lives would have turned out if we had a baby… how beautiful our child would have been"

"Luke…"

"It's stupid but part of me kinda wanted the test to be positive"

"Why?" She asked quietly.

"Because then you wouldn't leave me…" he laughed dryly. He wasn't naive enough to think a baby would magically fix their problems but it was true. At least the child would have been the glue to keep them somehow connected forever.

"I'm not going to leave you Lucas" she said but he could hear the lack of confidence and his heart broke.

"You're slipping away and I don't know how to pull you back in…"

"Why would you say that?"

"What happened with Peyton?" He asked, ignoring her question.

"She told me she still has feelings for you" she sighed.

"Oh"

"Oh? That's all you can say? God. Boys are so dumb" she pulled away from him irritatedly.

"What do you want me to say?" He said with a shrug. "I don't have any feelings for her."

"But you will" she said sadly.

Luke took a deep breath - trying to control his frustration. He hated when she did this.

"Brooke" he finally said. "You don't get to give me away just because she's your best friend. And you sure as hell don't have a right to tell me how _I_ feel. I need you to believe me when I tell you I want you. You don't get to make the decision for me Brooke. It's not fair. ." He sighed in defeat.

"But…"

"Not buts." He cuts her off. "Her feelings for me doesn't change my feelings for _you._ I love you Brooke. And even if there's a day you that you realize you stop loving me, that doesn't mean I will be with Peyton."

"She's my best friend Lucas…"

"And I'm your boyfriend." He challenged.

"I'm just scared" she whispered with tears falling. "Scared that one day, you're going to wake up and realize you love her"

"It's not going to happen Pretty girl." He shook his head. "To be honest, I get insecure too."

"Why?" She asked confused - he knew how much she loved him.

"Oh come on Brooke. You're drop dead gorgeous. I'm not blind… I see how other guys undress you with their eyes. And don't think I don't know what you said about Cooper" he raised his eyebrow at her.

"Damn Mouth" she muttered.

"Don't get me started on Mouth" he sighed and shook his head.

"You're jealous of Mouth?" She asked - trying to stiffle a laugh. "You can't be serious. He's like my brother"

"Sometimes" he shrugged.

"Baby…" she cooed as she stradled him. "I only want you." She laid her hand on his chest - right over his heart, tracing tiny circles over it.

"And I only want you Brooke Davis" he leaned up and kissed her.

He pulled her down so she was laying down against his chest - feeling her heartbeat against his always put his mind at ease. It still amazes him everyday how she couldn't see just how much she meant to him.

"One day I'm going to marry you Brooke Davis" he said finally with absolute certainty.

"We'll be a power couple." She said with a smile.

"But we'll still have enough time to have a big family."

"2 boys and a girl"

"And I'll coach little league" he added

"Ohhh. And I'll bake treats for the team…. or buy them" she shrugged her shoulders after seeing the _yeah right_ look Lucas gave her.

"Then we'll spend our summer in our beach house" he continued.

"And winters in the south of france" she said excitedly.

"Doesn't matter where we are… as long as we're together." He couldn't hide his smile anymore. "You're my home Brooke."

"You're my home too Broody. I love you"

 _ **Author Note:**_ _**I was truly conflicted while writing this one shot. I honestly wasn't even going to post this because as much as I love Brucas… I loved the scene in the movie so much more (even though it broke my heart) because it was so powerful. I don't want to take anything away from Sophia Bush… the fight scene at the wedding was truly her best one tree hill scene purely because it was so raw and real… I would never want to erase that scene but my shipper heart wished that this could have been the happy alternative if the writers would have stuck to the original plan of keeping Brooke and Lucas together. Hope you all enjoy reading this.**_

 _ **PS: I have one more angst one shot left.. Clearly I'm on a one tree hill binge but after that I will be working on a full story… I'm excited to get back into writing and I would love to thank one tree hill for reminding how much I loved to write fanfiction.**_


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